THE LAST FOUR SHOWS OF THE "ENDLESS FORMS MOST BEAUTIFUL WORLD TOUR 2015-2016" ARE HERE: 02 OCT 2016 Samsung Blue Square, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA05 OCT 2016 A8 Live House, Shenzeng, CHINA07 OCT 2016 QSW Culture Center, Shanghai, CHINA09 OCT 2016 LOUD PARK FESTIVAL, Tokyo, JAPAN
An exclusive interview with Tuomas Holopainen about plans, new Nightwish album, family and life goals (03.07.2016, RussianGlow)Интервью RussianGlow Ñ Ð¢ÑƒÐ¾Ð¼Ð°Ñом ХолопайненомRussianGlow, the largest Russian-speaking Nightwish fan community, is proud to present its first English material: an interview with Tuomas Holopainen, the mastermind, songwriter and keyboard player of Nightwish.The interview was taken on May 20, 2016 before the concert Nightwish in Moscow.The visit of the iconic Finnish band could not be missed by symphonic metal fans. A huge audience, most of it hungry for a Nightwish show, gathered up in the Crocus City Hall.It took a lot of blood and sweat, but, together with Ilya, I managed to take an interview for the largest Russian Nightwish fan club, RussianGlow, with Tuomas Holopainen, and to talk with the keyboardist on the plans, the making of the new Nightwish album, and the goals and unfulfilled wishes of the iconic Finnish band.– Of course, my first question will be about the new album. Have you got any plans for it? Have you maybe rehearsed it with the band already? Anything about the new album.– The new album… er… I pretty much have absolutely no idea. I have a certain schedule when am I to start doing the songs… Of course there are a few preliminary ideas already, but I think it’s gonna take a little while. I mean, after this album I… let’s say I feel really well-fed, and so does the whole band. For me Endless Forms Most Beautiful is definitely the pinnacle of the band’s career. And I don’t want to start the songwriting process without the enthusiasm and the idea that I can actually talk this. At the moment I don’t feel that at all. Because I’m really satisfied with the album, especially with the song The Greatest Show On Earth, it’s something that… yeah, wow, this is… at least on the personal level I’ve always aimed for. So next year is gonna be an off-year for Nightwish. It’s gonna be a sabbatical. And after that we have some plans, but… 4-5 years at least until the new album is out.Ð¢ÑƒÐ¾Ð¼Ð°Ñ Ð¥Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð¿Ð°Ð¹Ð½ÐµÐ½ и Ричард Докинз, фото– Everybody knows that Richard Dawkins took part in this album. Is there any singer or musician you’d like to collaborate with, did you think about it at all? – There are certain people that I would like to collaborate with or get them to do something for the albums, yes. And…– Who’s…?– I’m not gonna tell you! (laughs)– Okaaaay.– Yes. Because if it happens, it’s gonna be a lovely surprise for all of us.Дон РоÑа и Ð¢ÑƒÐ¾Ð¼Ð°Ñ Ð¥Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð¿Ð°Ð¹Ð½ÐµÐ½, фото– What about your instrumental music? You’ve already made the album “Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck†with Don Rosa, and what if, for instance, Hans Zimmer’s management offered you to work together with him, would you agree?– It would depend on so many different things: what the schedule is, if the context of what kind of music to write, for which kind of film…– Have you ever seen him?..– About two weeks ago in Prague, yeah. I actually got an e-pass to go and meet him.– That’s interesting: Tuomas Holopainen goes to a meet’n’greet as a fan!– I deliberately skipped because the concert was so incredibly beautiful that I didn’t want to break the illusion of meeting him. As for plans… yeah, next year there’s intriguing thing happening when it comes to music. I wanna concentrate on different things and so do the other members of the band. Then in 2018 we have some plans already. But you were asking about the new album, so nothing new there yet.– So can we expect to see anything new from Nightwish in 2018?– Already this year actually, because live DVD is coming out hopefully by the end of this year.Фрагмент концерта Metallica– Do you know Metallica has a DVD “S&Mâ€, where the band plays with a real symphonic orchestra? Have you ever thought about it?– It’s been on the discussions for the past 10 years at least. Just that the timing hasn’t been quite right yet. I would definitely assume that we will end up doing one at some point. Hopefully we will… the time just hasn’t come yet. I’d love to do that, though.– I read that you talked about an acoustic album at the end of Nightwish career. You said ‘we started with an acoustic album and it will be in the end’.– It’s a thought play which I find in a way romantic: you start off acoustic and then when you know that the time has come to finish the band you would make like a farewell album so that the circle closes. I don’t know if it’s ever gonna happen but I like it as an idea.– We just need to know that you have no plans to finish Nightwish.– No, not really.Ð’Ñ‹Ñтупление ТуомаÑа Холопайнена Ñ Ð³Ñ€ÑƒÐ¿Ð¿Ð¾Ð¹ Kotiteollisuus, фотоIlya: And what about your friends in the band Kotiteollisuus? They’re playing some shows without you, yeah, at the moment?– Yeah, for the past three years, I think.Ilya: So you have no plans for playing with them, or, maybe, on some occasions?– Maybe. I kinda fancy the idea. I really do. Since we have an off-year now, maybe I’ll do a few shows with them, if it’s OK with them, next year. But I haven’t seen the guys in a while. Great people.Ð¢ÑƒÐ¾Ð¼Ð°Ñ Ð¥Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð¿Ð°Ð¹Ð½ÐµÐ½, Йоханна Куркела, Трой Донокли, Пенти Холопайнен Live Lemminkainen Nightwish, фото– Let’s go a bit deeper in psychology, I know you like it. Can you name three most important things in your life?– Three most important things in my life… They kinda tend to change from year to year, from time to time, but I can mention like at the moment. The things that come to mind… number one would be my family, number two would be music/the band, number three… er… let’s see. Mmm! The garden!– Is it really? Do you have plants in you tour bus? (laughs)– No, no (everyone laughs), it’s all at home.– I can imagine it: if we go to your dressing room there will be a small garden in the corner.– Okay, you can go and check!Ð¢ÑƒÐ¾Ð¼Ð°Ñ Ð¥Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð¿Ð°Ð¹Ð½ÐµÐ½, фото Ñ Ñ€Ð¾Ð´Ð¸Ñ‚ÐµÐ»Ñми– So you’ve named three most important things in your life. Can you name just one: your life goal right now?– A life goal…– Yeah, let’s talk about life goals!– It’s a good subject, I mean… Harmony, balance, trying to be as good as you can to other people, find your place in life and just enjoy what you do. It’s as simple as that, I think.– What helps you restore the harmony in your soul and relax after a long tour?– Well, that would be definitely staying at home.– And how can you relax in the tour?– Books and movies are really good (laughter). Yeah. Books and movies. And doing crossword puzzles. Just really normal mundane stuff.Ð¢ÑƒÐ¾Ð¼Ð°Ñ Ð¥Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð¿Ð°Ð¹Ð½ÐµÐ½ Ñ Ð¶ÐµÐ½Ð¾Ð¹, родителÑми и музыкантами Nightwish, фото– We can say you’re already halfway through the EFMB tour. There have certainly been some funny moments, tell us about them!– I bet. But I’m not telling you (laughs). It’s not so funny when you tell them.– I hope there have been enough to cheer you up and to make you miss the touring and write the new album as soon as possible!– You can be sure about that! (laughs)– We’re  running out of time, thanks for the interview and for spending time with us!– You’re always welcome, see you!Thanks to Nightwish management and Ewo Pohjola for the accreditation!The interview was taken by Varya Valovil (Ð’Ð°Ñ€Ñ Ð’Ð°Ð»Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ð»ÑŒ, page-77145531_50773723). Please refer to the author when copying the material. Thank you!
I spoke to Nightwish bassist, Marco Hietala briefly at Download festival not long before the band played the main stage.So, Nightwish are playing the main stage today at Download, just before the headliners, Iron Maiden – a good spot on the bill.It seems like it yes, we just have to pull off a good show and I think all will be well. Well if you do as good a show as you did at Wembley then I think Iron Maiden might struggle to follow you.Let’s not go that far.It’s been a big year or so for Nightwish. This time last year you had the first Nightwish cruise in Finland. How did you enjoy it?The cruise was fun. You take a ship then you get a bar/restaurant environment which can hold around 1000 people, something like that, so it turns into more like a club show. Theres also all kinds of stuff happening on the ship that has something to do with the band. The shows were really good because I really like the club environment anyway. It’s what everyone else says – it’s more intimate and you get a really good connection and feedback from the audience which makes you put a little bit more into the show so you get a really nice thing going back and forth. I really enjoyed the second show on the cruise which was your acoustic set with Troy. It was an interesting choice of covers, starting off with Pink Floyd.Well me and Troy have a history of liking certain Prog bands.In December you sold out Wembley arena, which is double the size of Brixton academy where you’ve played before.That’s true. Now that was an achievement for the band and I guess personal achievement for everybody as well. The UK with the language difference has been a hard market for us to get into traditionally, so to be the first Finnish band to headline Wembley and also to sell out wembley, yeah it was a big thing to achieve.It was also the first time you’ve brought the full stage show over to the UK which made it even more impressive.There’s a lot of thought put into that show, and all the screen material and whatever pyros and everything, so all the better that we were finally able to bring that over.You’ve obviously got to be careful to stand in the right places when pyro goes off to avoid an accident.Yes, it’s warm enough up there when things go off. We are pretty much aware of where these things are going to happen, which ones and how much, and they’re printed down on the setlist that you have somewhere around on the stage, so if you stay sharp enough it’ll be good.You’ve also started doing your own Nightwish festivals too. Was it something you just thought would be fun to do with bands you like?Yeah that what’s happened last year when we did the two in Finland, and this year one more, as a tour end kind of thing. We’ve still got a few shows to do in different places though. I don’t know, it’s something that management and the band started to talk about, and having a few of the bands that we know people from and know them to be good. It was a no-brainer really when we got down to it.The band is going to be taking a break next year. Are you going to be getting some rest, or doing something with Tarot?I’m going to get some rest first, but there are plans of course for different things. With Tarot it’s hard because we’ve got one guy who is really sick at the moment and we’re not really sure how this will go. For a band where most of the guys have been together for 30 years almost, well we’re not going to be changing lineup till we’re certain of things, and probably not even after that.I think with some people, the perception of Nightwish is that Tuomas goes off and comes back having written a new album and the rest of you then just record it, but I’m sure there’s more to it than that. How much involvement do you actually have?Actually quite a lot. Obviously Tuomas writes most of the songs and lyrics but there are four or five songs on the latest album where I got music written, a couple where I got some lines of lyrics written, and then when we get together to rehearse and arrange, everybody has their say. Every democracy has their president and Tuomas, he’s not a dictator or tyrant – everybody has their say. When you write songs with keyboards you cannot really tell if something is uncomfortable for a bass player to play, so sometimes things will have to be changed that way, but there’s also the fact that we have really free sharing of ideas in the rehearsal room so anybody can come up with something and we’ll try it out and see if it works, and that how it goes.I was impressed you managed to do “The greatest show on earth†live – when I heard the album that was a song I didn’t expect to hear live as I thought it was too complex.Well it took a few rehearsals..Of course you now have Floor in the band, and she’s got a much more metal presence.Yes she’s got a very strong presence, I’m not sure if it’s metal or what it is but it’s strong, and she’s got the voice with an almost inhuman strength. There’s a lot of admiration in the band for her.If your voice goes when you’re on tour, she can even do the growls for you.Well there’s that too. Actually some of the growls on the album, I was doing the melody and she was doing the growls.It must be difficult with Nightwish albums – every time you release one it’s the best you can do at that time, which then leaves you with a real challenge to do something better for the next one.Yes, but I don’t think we’re going to let that affect things. So far the albums have been successful because of the open minded no recipe thinking, and that’s what we’re going to be doing in the future, so there’s no strings or any kind of constraints on us for the writing of the music. Basically all the albums have been done at the times they were done, so that will affect the music or lyrics. You do the best you can with the things you have at the time.Saying about open-mindedness, with Imaginaerum I think that really showed as you did something that was totally different to anything you or anyone else had done before, it was unexpected and the result was a really differnt and brilliant album.You’ve got to have the element of surprise because if you don’t have that then the whole thing will go stale. At least that’s my opinion. It’s always good to find things we haven’t done before and go for it.Richard Dawkins appearing on the latest album and on stage at Wembley – that was a surprise.That was a little bit surreal – the stage appearance, but it happened. Also the whole album thing and the themes it’s got with evolution and biology. Getting him along was a big thing.Thank you very much for your time.
NIGHTWISH will release a live DVD package â€Vehicle Of Spiritâ€in November 2016After touring for a year and a half throughout almost every corner of the world and leaving fans of all nationalities breathless, the time has come for NIGHTWISH to immortalize their "Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour 2015-2016" on DVD. Therefore, the symphonic metal visionaries are set to release their new live milestone »Vehicle Of Spirit« on November 4th, featuring not only two full concerts, but also plenty of bonus material."The title "Vehicle Of Spirit" came from a friend of Troy's, who after seeing our show a few years ago defined NIGHTWISH as 'A vehicle of spirit that defies category'. That beautiful description has followed us ever since, and felt like a perfect match as the DVD title," states keyboardist and songwriter Tuomas Holopainen.Sold out arenas and spectacular shows with never before seen pyro effects, wind machines, video screens and of course NIGHTWISH's incomparable melodies are the elements that made their latest tour so unique.Special highlights for the band have been two particular shows though: The one in London, where they not only played their hymns such as "í‰lan" and the majestic "The Greatest Show On Earth" to more than 12.000 fans, but also welcomed the world famous scientist Richard Dawkins live on stage with them.Richard Dawkins´ works had a massive impact on the thematical orientation of their latest studio album â€Endless Forms Most Beautifulâ€. Finland's Tampere show however was a home run for the band and never before NIGHTWISH had such an immense stage production with them:"I would say the main part of the DVD are those two shows, both Wembley and Tampere. Wembley is mentioned first due to its recognizability and legendary status. I remember the show being very special, both a goal achieved, and a starting point. The crowd was heartwarming. The presence of Richard Dawkins on stage was mind-blowing. The overall Wembley experience was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill ride!The show in Ratina Stadion, Tampere, was a home crowd specialty (for 4/6th of the band) with the biggest stage production we've ever had. A lovely atmosphere throughout the concert, with many same faces in the front row as there were 15 years ago. Heartfelt."When it comes to the final artwork of the DVD, NIGHTWISH decided to walk different paths this time and come up with a little alternative idea, as Tuomas explains:"We didn`t want to include a traditional band shot for the cover, as on the previous DVD release »Showtime, Storytime«. So we started brainstorming on different options and the idea of a classic silent movie era - Hollywood visuals quickly came up. With those classic slogans the cover has a little tongue-in-cheek-touch to it, but it's still classy and eye-catching in its simplicity and originality."
